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Google has dismissed as a smear campaign the emergence of stories that its Google Apps implementation at LAPD is going pear-shaped.

According to Consumer Watchdog, the rollout has hit snags, with the police deciding that security on the vaunted platform isn’t adequate for users in the City Attorney Criminal Branch, fire department arson investigations, public safety users, parking police, street services investigations, parks rangers, and “any other City entities that access criminal history data”.

That has led the LA City CIO Randi Levin to write to Google and subcontractor CSC in August, demanding that GroupWise be hauled out of its coffin, given a quick slap and defibrillation, and pressed back into service. The city is also demanding that there be no charge for Google licenses for the LAPD, credits for some licenses already paid for, and CSC and Google to pay for GroupWise licenses the city needs.

The letter notes that CSC made the call on Google Apps’ inability to be secured to the city’s requirements.

The Chocolate Factory has fired back, quoted in Business Insider that the Consumer Watchdog reports emanate “from a group that admits to working closely with our competitors” and noting that the city has renewed its Google licenses for the 17,000 employees that apparently don’t need the security demanded by the police.

Google is also blaming “new requirements” introduced by the city for the problem, while along the way offering to meet those requirements at no charge.

Citizens Against Government Waste has weighed into the furore asking how much the 13,000 GroupWise licenses will cost LA if CSC and Google decline to cover the cost. ®